- Crypto sentiment reversing fast
- Inflation jump in UK sends shivers through markets
Crypto prices shot lower with BTCUSD tumbling to a 3-month at $38.5k in early trade this morning, now looking to test the long-term trend line from the ramp at the tail end of last year. There is a major bleed across the entire crypto space today, and both Bitcoin and Ether are 30 per cent lower across the last 7 days, and Bitcoin has now given back all the gains made since Tesla announced in early February that it had invested $1.5bn in the asset. Spurring the move lower today is news that Chinese financial regulators have instructed financial and payment institutions not to accept cryptocurrencies as payment nor offer related services or products. Cryptos are “seriously infringing on the safety of people’s property and disrupting the normal economic and financial order,” three industry bodies said in a joint statement on the PBOC WeChat account. China has for some time been putting pressure on the crypto space, but this marks an intensification – other countries might follow now as central banks make strides towards their own digital currencies. Until now western regulators have been pretty relaxed about Bitcoin, but this might change soon.
The crypto bros have had a hard time lately. First, they got down on their knees to the saviour Elon Musk as he pumped up Bitcoin and Doge. Then they got mad because he called one a hustle and signalled that he wasn’t all that keen on the other after all. Musk clearly gets all the spotlight, but it’s also worth looking at Michael Saylor, founder of MicroStrategy (MSTR). The company is doubling down on Bitcoin, with Saylor saying yesterday it had purchased an additional 229 Bitcoins for $10.0 million in cash at an average price of about $43,663. “As of 5/18/2021, we #hodl ~92,079 bitcoins acquired for ~$2.251 billion at an average price of ~24,450 per bitcoin,” he tweeted. YOLO. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao tweeted “Legend,” in response.